


Graveyard Confessions

by Angel_Waters



Category: Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-19
Updated: 2013-06-19
Packaged: 2017-12-15 12:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/849744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angel_Waters/pseuds/Angel_Waters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Anita gets the news that Edward is dead, it forces her to realize the truth about her feelings for him. But now it’s too late… Or is it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Setup

***** CHAPTER ONE: The Setup *****  

I was sitting at my kitchen table drinking my usual dose of morning coffee when I got the letter. It was plain white, nothing fancy about it. But it was mailed from Santa Fe. And I only knew one person who lived in Santa Fe. My heart picked up it’s pace.

_Could it be…?_

I hadn’t heard from Edward since I’d left. Such a long time to spend wondering, waiting for him to let me know whether or not he was going through with that sham of a marriage.

_Please, God, let it say he didn’t!_

I set down my coffee cup and opened the envelope. No sooner had my eyes skimmed over it, my heart stopped. The letter fluttered to the floor.

_No. Please, please, please. Not that. Not him. It can’t be true. Ted Forrester. Car accident. Break failure. Dead… Dead… Dead…_

The word reverberated in my mind, over and over again. I sat there, not noticing the tears falling from my eyes. I called Donna, praying she would say it was a mistake. But no. You could hear it in that broken, weepy voice. It was true.

_Edward can’t be dead. I need him! I—_

I didn’t dare finish that thought. It was too unthinkable, after living so long in denial. Love was not something I could admit to. Not now, not ever. It was too late for that.

_It’s too late for a lot of things. It’s too late to let him know how much he means to me. It’s too late. I’m too late._

Micah and Nathaniel woke up, I don’t know how long after, and exchanged a worried glance. Micah read the letter first, then handed it to Nathaniel silently. He picked me up and carried me back to bed, spooning against my back. Nathaniel came into the room a few moments later and climbed into bed with Sigmund in tow. I clutched to them while I cried as if my whole world had just been ripped away. And, in a way, it really had been.


	2. The Funeral

***** CHAPTER TWO: The Funeral *****

It was beautiful, in all honesty. A lot of people really cared about Ted Forrester. But he wasn’t real. Edward was the real one, the one I was crying for. Donna didn’t even have the heart to give me dirty looks during the ceremony. I guess the grief took place of the jealousy. Not that she should’ve been jealous, but she still thought I’d been with him first.

_Stupid! You never even knew what you had. And now it’s gone… Why should you be jealous of me? I never got to hold him. I never got to tell him— No! But you did. You had him. He cared about you, in his own way. …But I guess he cared about me, too. He always took care of me. Always…_

I hadn’t thought I could cry so hard, but stay so silent. I stood there, slightly apart from the rest of the mourners. They didn’t know him. None of them knew anything about him. But neither did I, really. I just knew a different alias. I didn’t even know if Edward was his real name. The body had been cremated, but they weren’t scattering the ashes. Donna was having them buried.

_Well, most of them…_

I had my little bit of him to keep with me. It’s not like she’d notice. Thank goodness for pocket-urns. And this way his ashes were still scattered, somewhat. I had enough of the ashes for it to be true, even if it was only barely. They were the parts I should’ve taken for him, like I’d promised I would: his head and his heart.

_The two pieces I wanted most. How ironic._

But even my sarcastic humor couldn’t cheer me up. He was really gone.

_Edward is dead. I’ll never see that secretive little smile again. I’ll never come home to find him sitting there waiting for me with freshly brewed coffee. I’ll never wake up to find him standing in my bedroom doorway. I’ll never see him again._

And with those thoughts, my crying wasn’t quite as silent as it had been.


	3. SoulMates

***** CHAPTER THREE: Soul-Mates *****

It had been exactly one year since his funeral. I’d lost myself in work, pushed all the boys away, and was truly alone. I fed the _ardeur_ only from a distance, though sometimes it was hard to make do with only that much. But I managed. Now I was back in Santa Fe again. I had a raising scheduled in the very same cemetery. It was supposed to be nearly twenty minutes ago. But I didn’t mind. I wanted the time alone, just to see his tombstone and pay my respects.

_And maybe see him…_

I knew it was silly. He would’ve contacted me if he was still alive. …Right?

_Oh, who am I kidding? If he needed to disappear, he wouldn’t tell me. He’d just… Well, he’d just disappear. And that’s exactly what he did._

But I was here, looking down at his grave, crying. It was like a piece of my soul had died with him.

_Isn’t that what it means to be soul-mates?_

And that’s when I realized I couldn’t hide from it anymore. I couldn’t keep pretending it wasn’t true. And, even though he couldn’t hear me, I had to tell him.

“Edward, you were right. I’m sorry. I wish I’d told you. I knew it from the first moment I saw you. I never should’ve kept it hidden. You’re my soul-mate. I love you,” I whispered.

I didn’t hear the man coming up behind me. I didn’t hear his quiet gasp as he heard what I’d said. I didn’t hear anything.

But I felt him.

_Oh… My… God…_

There was only one man who sent that tingle up my spine. Only one man who made me feel so hyperaware of everything around me.

I turned around, almost afraid to look and see no one there like I had so many times before. But I turned, ever so slowly, and there he was.

“Do you mean it, Anita? Do you really love me?” he asked.

Those piercingly blue eyes were looking into mine, guarded but with something more hidden in there. Something so familiar…

“Every word.” My answer was barely anything more than the exhaling of breath.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was afraid. I didn’t think you could possibly…” My voice broke before I could finish, before I could ask.

“Hush. No more worrying about that. I’m here now.”

“Promise me you won’t leave again. I couldn’t bear it if you disappeared again.”

“I never left you. Not really. But I’ll never do it again,” he whispered.

Then I was in his arms, and nothing else mattered.


End file.
